Responsibility [3]

 'Was asking for Evelyn's help the right decision?'

Brandon was unconfident if he could actually save Amy by himself.

After all, he knew that Francis Osborn was a full fledged Wraithbound.

Due to the details of the quest, he had concluded that the current task was unlike anything he had ever dealt with.

It was the first time he would be significantly rewarded. And to his surprise, there was no penalty, just like the time with Alpha.

He could recall the time he fought Alpha, how helpless he was against him.

Due to his abilities at that time, the system deemed him too weak to actually finish the quest.

And now the same thing has happened.

Despite having all the skills within his arsenal, the system deemed him too weak to finish the current task.

This meant that if he wanted to save Amy, he needed assistance.

There were several others he could ask for help.

Such as Raven, Claire, Reinhard, and Rachel.

But he had already changed the plotline enough. He didn't want to involve any of the main cast anymore.

Though it seemed like Evelyn wanted to win his trust for some reason as she accepted his conditions.

It was quite the proposal.

After all, from what he remembered from the novel, Evelyn would soon surpass the current top mage.

But once again, there was no point in relying on his knowledge about it.

The plot had significantly changed, emphasis on significant.

'After I killed Felix…'

It wasn't the same story anymore.

He had drastically changed the entire thing. His knowledge about the future was useless.

Ring... Ring... Ring...

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue.

"Why isn't he answering?"

For the past few minutes, he had been trying to call Alpha. But it was to no avail.

"Of all times... Fuck..."

It seemed like Alpha wasn't answering his phone. It was the first time this had ever happened, and left Brandon frustrated.

But he had to compartmentalize it for now. If Alpha was busy with whatever Primordial task he had, then it was understandable.

"Huu..."

He took calm steady breaths.

Gathering his thoughts together, Brandon beckoned outside.

What met his sight was Evelyn with a lollipop in her mouth, and was seated behind a black motorcycle.

"Here."

He tossed a black helmet towards her and Evelyn clumsily caught it.

The motorcycle was recently bought, only after he had read on how to operate one.

He then strode towards it and sat at the front.

Vroom—

As he turned it on, Evelyn–who was seated behind, anxiously chimed in.

"You sure you know how to drive this thing?"

"...I've read books."

"That's not very reassuring."

"Trust me."

"Do you have a license?"

"No…"

"..."

After breathing out a sigh, Evelyn donned the black helmet which covered her entire face. Brandon did the same, putting on his own black helmet.

In truth, they were outside a store that sold helmets. He had just recently bought them as well.

From behind him, Evelyn's anxious voice reached his ears again.

"I'm starting to doubt my decisions…"

"No time for that. Hold on tight."

At his instructions, Evelyn held the back of the motorcycle.

Brandon just shrugged. It seemed like Evelyn didn't want to wrap her arms around her student.

VROOM—!

"AHHHH–"

Due to the speed that Brandon was going, Evelyn seemed like she was about to fall off.

"Keum…!"

She then wrapped her arms around his back.

Brandon could feel something round and soft poking behind his back. But he didn't care, and continued to speed up.

Their destination was Osborn Company building.

Brandon knew it would be way too obvious for them to be there.

But regardless, this was their only lead.

If they wanted to save Amy as soon as possible, they had to go there and deal with whatever trap Francis Osborn was planning.

Or particularly–the Wraith possessing him.

VROOOOM—!

***

Step– Step—

Raven walked urgent steps as he headed inside a particular room.

The hallway was quite spacious, each row painted with a tinge of white and blue.

On the wall were portraits of Special Force officers who have made a significant contribution to the task force.

But Raven did not spare it any glance. He had seen it several times whenever he went to the Special Force building.

He continued to walk urgently until he reached the door.

Slam—!

As he entered the room, what met his sight were five figures, all adorning blue technical uniforms.

On their chest etched a gold symbol. The Special Force logo.

One of them stood by the wall with his arms crossed.

Red hair and blue eyes, Clint Stormfall, a fellow member of the Special Force.

Seated on the left was a woman, with pink hair and black eyes, Francine Scott.

Seated beside her was yet another woman, Alexandra Meda, with brown hair and blue eyes.

To the front was a man, with blonde hair and green eyes, Drake Leonard.

And in the middle of it all was their leader, with pale wheat hair and dark eyes, Reina Ataraxia.

Reina was also the woman that was in the call with Raven inside the police station.

The entire group exuded an aura of sheer confidence.

Each and every one of them had the pride of the Special Force behind their back.

Reina stood tall. Her pale wheat hair cascading around her shoulders which highlighted her proportional features.

The technical uniform wrapped tightly around her and accentuated most of her curves.

Her seductive allure was enough to even take Raven aback.

But regardless, this was their Leader, and he had to show the proper courtesy.

The first one to have broken the silence was none other than–Reina.

Raven immediately caught their attention when he entered the room, as Reina lifted her head and locked her eyes with him.

"Ah, Sherly, you're finally here."

"Yes… But can you stop calling me Sherly?"

"Why? Are you embarrassed?"

She flashed him a sly smirk.

"...No."

At that, Reina contoured her smirk into a serious expression.

"So? What's all of this about?"

"I know we weren't tasked to do it but… Please help me save my classmate."

Truth be told, Raven had never given it his all in the fight with Brandon.

At least... That's what he thinks...

After Amy seemingly desynchronized, Raven was instantly alerted. Hence, why he headed directly to Brandon.

But when he appeared from behind Brandon using [Shadow Step], Brandon instantly attacked him.

But the mere fact that Brandon was able to see him coming made him feel unease.

No, it triggered his instincts to fight him.

Thus, he continued to use [Shadow Step] to confirm if Brandon could actually see him coming.

Again…

And Again…

And to his surprise, he was countered by Brandon every time he did so.

At the end of it, he was snapped out of his thoughts as he informed Brandon about Amy's sudden disappearance, allowing Brandon to kill him.

Right after the Battle Royale, they were instantly debriefed by Vanessa and Evelyn about what exactly happened to Amy.

And right after they were dismissed, Raven sent an urgent call to Reina to quickly gather the members.

Due to his mental capabilities he had already deduced what exactly happened during the kidnapping.

Though it was mere speculation, there were no other suspects.

After all, the kidnapper was an Osborn. And it seemed like the kidnapper specifically targeted Amy.

Since he was one of the people that knew how Amy was involved in the crime, all he had to do was put two on two together to come up with a conclusion.

After debriefing the team, their next course of action was to head into the Osborn Company building.

Of course, he knew it would be way too obvious if they were actually there.

But then again, it was their only lead.

As the group were now leaving the room, Raven followed suit.

However, Reina turned around to look at him and spoke with a serious tone.

"Sherly, you're staying."

"What?"

"You're not a real member yet, and this operation would be too dangerous for you."

Raven knew that.

Though quite unsure of what kind of dangers lay ahead of the operation.

But he couldn't just sit still and let the Special Force handle everything

"I'm going."

"No."

"If you'll stop me, I'll go regardless of the consequences."

"..."

Raven locked determined eyes with Reina, and continued,

"She's a friend. She must be all alone and scared. You think I'll just stand down while my friend is kidnapped?"

"..."

Reina seemed taken aback.

Raven knew this was the first time he was being impulsive. But he couldn't help it.

He would do anything for a friend.

But to his relief, Reina breathed out a sigh and reluctantly nodded.

"Haa… Fine. But you must follow all my orders. If I tell you to retreat, you will do as I say."

Raven instantly fixed his posture. Back straightened and lifted his arm to flash her a salute.

"Understood."

Reina immediately gave him a nood.

"Good."